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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Two from a Cebu medical school top the boards, 100 percent passing for said medical school

Blake Ang, top 1 in the August 2013 Physician Licensure Exam

Two graduates from Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM), a medical school in Cebu ended up in the top ten successful examinees in the August 2013 Physician Board Exams where 1,834 out of 2,211 passed.

Blake Warren Coloma Ang (with a rating of 89.42) and Alvin Christian Borbon (88.47% rating) ranked 1st and 7th respectively. Meanwhile, their school, CIM was one of 4 medical schools nationwide with 50 or more examinees getting a 100% passing rate (79/79) for its graduates who took this particular board exam.Blake did not expect to top the boards especially after encountering difficulty in Pathology. He initially learned about the board exam result from a friend’s text message. “Someody texted me a ‘congrats, Blake’ so I just assumed that I just passed and so checked it for myself on my phone's net. I was just amazed when i saw my name sa topnotchers list. It was totally unexpected…”But it seems it was only Blake himself who did not expect Blake to top the board. His classmates and teachers expected him to be in the top ten. He graduated top of his class in CIM and was also top 9 in the June 2008 Nursing Licensure Exam after graduating in Cebu Doctors’ University.So how did he prepare for the boards? The key for him appears to be his medical school years and balance. “I personally believe that the board exams is a measure of how much you have studied for the past 4 years, not just on the 3 month period of speed reading. So I read whenever I can, play computer games when I can and go out when I feel like it. I sleep before 12. I wake up at 8-9 AM,” he narrates.

Having his postgraduate internship at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, a government hospital with so many patients, it was only until April when Blake was able to fully devote his time studying. Until then, he was only able to read his notes whenever he can. He tried to study in coffee shops or in the condo where he stayed and his friends played DotA, a multiplayer video game. In his words, “He was studying for the love of knowledge and for refreshing the memories that seemed to have faded throughout the years.”

He eventually went back to Cebu to join his batchmates taking the board exam here since he likes to be in a familiar place when he takes the boards. And the rest was history.Blake, who is also the first doctor in the family and hails from Surigao City plans to eventually practice his profession within the Philippines serving his countrymen as a pediatric surgeon. He will therefore apply for residency training in Surgery next.When asked for advice, he had this to say for future medical board exam takers – “Study eat at your own pace since it is never guaranteed that the things you are reading are the ones who will come out in the actual exam. Don't overdo it, and remember to respect your bodies. Pray and trust God. Just make the whole review an enjoyable process.”

Below are some congratulatory tweets for Blake and CIM.

congrats to blake warren ang. top 1 in physician licensure exam. he was also a topnotcher in the 2008 nle. brilliant!
— jayson cinense (@jaysoncinense) August 27, 2013